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MG Astor First Look Review — The Most Advanced MG Yet Is Quite Impressive
MG Motor India recently unveiled the all-new Astor. The MG Astor was revealed ahead of its launch and will be the brand's mid-size SUV offering in the country. Moreover, the Astor is the company's most technologically advanced product featuring Level 2 ADAS and personal AI assistance.
We were invited to take a look at the all-new Astor. Well, after seeing the car, we were impressed with the overall features that the company is offering with the Astor. Here is what we have to say about the new offering from MG.
Exterior & Design
The all-new MG Astor is based on the MG ZS EV platform. It is offered in five colour options. Starting off at the front, the car gets a sleek-looking LED headlight cluster that MG calls the Hawk-eye LED headlamps.
One of the most attractive parts of the car is the celestial grille that has a good road presence. Also, the car gets a front parking camera, which is a part of the 360-degree camera function. Along with that, there is also a camera present at the backside of the IRVM, which is a part of the ADAS system.
On the lower part of the grille, the company has mounted the radar system that works in sync with the camera present behind the IRVM. This enables the SUV to have safety features such as lane keep assist, adaptive cruise control, active brake assist and many more.
Other than that, the Astor gets a sporty bumper that houses the halogen bulb-powered fog lights. The same fog lights also act as cornering lights. The housing of the foglights is finished in gloss black. There is not a lot of chrome present on the exterior and the garnishing around the grille is in brushed aluminium, which also continues at the side.
The MG Astor rides on a set of beautiful-looking five-spoke dual-tone 17-inch alloy wheels. They are wrapped in 215/55 sized Continental tyres. Also, to accentuate the sportiness of the car, the company has equipped it with red callipers on all four ends.
The side profile features subtle body lines and creases that continue from the front to the taillights. It also gets blacked out ORVMs that have cameras mounted on either end. However, the integrated indicator features a halogen bulb, which we think should have been an LED setup.
At the rear, the Astor gets a set of good-looking LED tail light units. Apart from that, there is the 'ASTOR' badging right below the MG logo. The ADAS and the ZS badges are present on either side of the boot lid. The large MG logo also doubles up as the lever to open the boot of the SUV.
The official figures for the boot space haven't been revealed yet. However, we do expect it to feature the same 470-litre boot space as the ZS EV, and that is pretty big. You also get some chrome accents around the fake dual exhaust tips. The Astor lso gets a reverse parking camera with active guidelines that make parking in a tight space easy.
Interior
Step inside the car and you will be welcomed with a roomy cabin. The big panoramic sunroof helps the cabin look even bigger. The interiors of the Astor are finished in dual-tone (Black and Red).
Centre stage on the dashboard is taken by a 10.1-inch infotainment system that features wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and the response from the touchscreen is excellent. However, the image quality of the reverse or 360-degree cameras is not crisp and this could have been better.
The second screen is the 7-inch instrument cluster that gives out a lot of information about the vehicle. Also, the steering is a flat bottom one and features steering mounted controls on either side that help to navigate through both the screens.
The third screen is the highlight of the interior and that is the AI assistance screen with a bot that has human-like expressions being displayed on the dashboard. The voice for the AI assistance is provided by the Padma Shri, Khel Ratna Awardee and Paralympic Medalist, Dr. Deepa Malik.
The AI-assistant features includes things like: Wikipedia access, Chit-chat & joke function, Read news, Navigation Play, Music, Select in-car warning, Critical in-car warning and the best part is hat it also understands Hinglish. Apart from that, The company is also offering a Digital Key enabled with Bluetooth technology. This will help the owner to access the MG Astor without the need for a physical key. This can be done through the iSmart app on your phone.
The seats on the Astor look and feel comfortable but are only manually adjustable. On the driver's side, the seat gets height adjustment. That, along with the tilt and telescopic steering adjustment feature helps the driver to find the correct driving position. The rear seat also feels comfortable and has a centre armrest with cupholders. It also gets AC vents and 2 USB charging sockets at the rear (A total of 5 charging ports in the car).
Engine & Transmission
The Astor SUV will be available with two petrol engines. One of them is the 1.3-litre turbo petrol engine and the other is a 1.5-litre naturally aspirated unit. The turbo-petrol produces 138bhp of power and 220Nm of peak torque. This engine is paired with a 6-speed AT transmission.
On the other hand, the naturally aspirated engine produces 108bhp and 144Nm. This engine is paired with either a 6-speed manual or an 8-step CVT gearbox.
Safety Features
The Astor will be the second model to feature ADAS from the brand. However, the new SUV comes equipped with Level 2 ADAS and this simply means it has more driver assistance features. This includes Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), Forward Collision Warning (FCW), Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB), AEB for pedestrian obstruction, Lane Keep Assist (LKA), Lane Departure Warning (LDW) and Lane Departure Prevention (LDP), to name a few.
It also gets Speed Assist System, Warning Mode, Intelligent Mode Speed Assist System, Manual Mode Rear Drive Assist, Cross-Traffic Alert Rear Drive Assist, Lane Change Alert and Blind Spot Detection
Apart from the Level-2 ADAS, the company is offering 27 standard features on the Astor. Other features include 6 airbags, Electronic Stability Program (ESP), Traction Control System (TSC), ABS with EBD and Hill Descent Control (HDC), which is a segment-first feature.
DriveSpark Thinks!
The MG Astor is certainly the most advanced mid-size SUV that is going to be launched in the Indian market. With Level 2 ADAS, it is also one of the safest cars that will go on sale in the country. Also, once launched, the Astor will go up against the likes of the Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, Nissan Kicks, Jeep Compass and more in India.